shillings 1947-1966

[Guest John52]

Hi

Not a coin collector more of a change collector.

Just emptied a gallon bottle of coins thats been around awhile, like 25 years,

and found I have over 1000 old style 5p's about a third shillings.

The Bank will exchange them for face value, £50.oo, but I wondered whether

they are worth more to collectors.

The shillings run from 1947 to 1966 except 1952

So is it worth sorting them out or just take them to the bank?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

John

[Chris Perkins]

Any that are like new (really really perfect) should be kept. I imagine the vast majority, most likely all of them, will be face value fodder.

[scottishmoney]

Some of the 1950's era Scottish reverse shillings are worth a hair more than the English, they were usually minted in smaller quantities. Curiously they may have more scrap value(illegal to melt though) than the numismatic value.

[Chris Perkins]

Only in higher grades though, no one would want a Fine 1957S even though in true UNC they aren't that common. I find that I simply cannot sell anything from the 40s/50s without it being UNC or preferably BU.

I thought there was a loophole something along the lines of it only being illegal to melt down current coins, hence the melting of pre 47 silver and pre 1970 Cu-Ni should be completely legal.

[scottishmoney]

Yes, the heavily circulated Scottish shillings have no more than nominal value, not much above face if you can find someone that wants them. But in better grades they are right unusual to find.

But what about the older large sized 5p's from before 1992, can those be melted? My guess would be yes, but here in the USA the melting prohibition covers our 5¢ coins issued in cu-ni, technically all the way back to 1867, but in reality I do still get 1939 and 1940 on up nickels in change fairly often. So even those early dates are covered because they still circulate to some extent.

[Red Riley]

But what about the older large sized 5p's from before 1992, can those be melted? My guess would be yes, but here in the USA the melting prohibition covers our 5¢ coins issued in cu-ni, technically all the way back to 1867, but in reality I do still get 1939 and 1940 on up nickels in change fairly often. So even those early dates are covered because they still circulate to some extent.

I guess part of the answer lies in whether the coins are still capable of circulation. Are shield nickels the same size and weight as the current issue, and have they specifically been declared by Congress as non-legal currency? In Britain, the old size 5 and 10p pieces have specifically been de-monetised and by my reckoning there should be no reason why they couldn't be melted. Even if it were technically illegal, it strikes me as a victimless crime and as such it is unlikely that any charges would ever be brought.

Incidentally, put a bit of iron into the mix and you get cunifer - strong, flexible and resistant to corrosion; frequently used in motor vehicle brake pipes. Not a lot of people know that!

[Guest John52]

Thanks for the replies.

Looks like I can't retire yet!!

John

[scottishmoney]

I guess part of the answer lies in whether the coins are still capable of circulation. Are shield nickels the same size and weight as the current issue, and have they specifically been declared by Congress as non-legal currency?

The earliest 5¢ coin I have gotten in circulation was a Buffalo nickel from 1920 that I got in a department store about a year ago. But the Shield nickels(Struck to 1883) and the Liberty Nickels (struck up to 1912) are the same composition and weight as the current ones. But the act refers to the denomination, so that even the 1942-1945 nickels that were struck in silver and manganese cannot be melted down, even though they have 80¢ worth of metal(in the government's legislation they still circulate) even though in reality it is rare to get one in circulation now, the last one I saw was last year when I got a very beaten up 1943-S, but the same lot of coins contained a 1982 20p from Great Britain.

[Red Riley]

The earliest 5¢ coin I have gotten in circulation was a Buffalo nickel from 1920 that I got in a department store about a year ago. But the Shield nickels(Struck to 1883) and the Liberty Nickels (struck up to 1912) are the same composition and weight as the current ones. But the act refers to the denomination, so that even the 1942-1945 nickels that were struck in silver and manganese cannot be melted down, even though they have 80¢ worth of metal(in the government's legislation they still circulate) even though in reality it is rare to get one in circulation now, the last one I saw was last year when I got a very beaten up 1943-S, but the same lot of coins contained a 1982 20p from Great Britain.

I have to say, I rather envy you Americans your current coinage as it has been stable for many a long year, whereas the oldest coin you can get in the UK is 1971 and even those are becoming scarce. Obviously Europe is even worse. As a kid there was nothing like the thrill of digging through a bank bag full of coins and finding something from the rein of either Victoria or Edward VII, a pleasure that almost nobody under the age of fifty has experienced.

May well be heading off to see friends in Pensacola some time soon, so would be useful to know what theoretically I could find in my change. No rush you understand!

[scottishmoney]

The oldest coin I have gotten in circulation ever was last year, I went through several boxes of 2500 cents each, and found a 1910 cent. But I found several 1918-1919 and 1920's era cents. It has more to do with the Coinstar machines set up in grocery stores where people bring in bags and buckets of accumulated change.

But Switzerland is better, it is possible to get coins as early as 1880 in circulation with the rappen minor coins as the composition hasn't changed since then.